CHELMSFORD -- For a chain restaurant with more than 1,000 locations across the country, Five Guys Burgers and Fries sure generates a lot of excitement when a new franchise comes to town.

"Thank God," said Tim Gardner, when he heard a new Five Guys was opening in Chelmsford. "I am all about that place."

The popular, quick-service, burger joint will open a new location at Drum Hill Plaza, taking the old Citibank space that is now closed.

Marc Magerman, CEO of franchisee Massachusetts Burger Enterprises, said he hopes to obtain building permits within the next week and to open the restaurant by the middle of June.

Massachusetts Burger Enterprises secured a contract with Five Guys in 2007 to franchise 20 locations. The Chelmsford location will be the 10th so far, as well as Massachusetts Burger's first since it opened a location at Cornerstone Square in Westford in November.

"Five Guys has a formula that shows how many stores should be in certain counties, based on population," Magerman said. "Chelmsford and Westford were both in the top 20 of the market areas in our cluster of counties."

Five Guys will join an already crowded restaurant marketplace on the Drum Hill strip, which is home to 12 other chain restaurants. Two of those, Panera Bread and Moe's Southwest Grill, sit on either side of the eventual Five Guys space.

Also in the plaza are Walmart and Hannaford Supermarket.

"The plaza in Chelmsford has all the factors we want," Magerman said.

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"It gets a lot of traffic, it has a grocery anchor and a retail trade area. We think we stack up favorably against McDonald's and Burger King, but even Panera and Moe's. If we can be in an area where people are going to eat, we think people will check us out."

Customers at Panera Bread and Moe's were excited to hear the news of Five Guys' impending arrival. Gardner, a Merrimack, N.H., resident, said he knows from his positive experiences at the Nashua location on Amherst Street that Five Guys lives up to its reputation. (A second Nashua location on Daniel Webster Highway will open soon.)

"In terms of burgers and fast-food places, it definitely does it the best," Gardner said. "Their small fries are enough to feed a family of four."

UConn student Phil Hnatowicz, who goes to Moe's whenever he's home from school, said he has been to the Five Guys in Worcester and appreciates the higher-end burger you can get there without having to wait long for it. (Magerman said eight minutes is the restaurant's standard).

"I think people like it because they're used to fast food but want something that tastes better and is better quality than McDonalds or Burger King," said Hnatowicz, a Lowell resident.

The Westford Five Guys had a line of 30 people waiting at the front door when it opened, and it sold 900 burgers that day, so Five Guys might make the Drum Hill Road lunchtime traffic even more congested than it already is.

"It's a crazy plaza," Hanover resident Rocco Abbondanzio said. "You have to get in here early for the best service. But when Five Guys moves in, they'll get their fair share."

"Parking will probably be an issue," said Amanda Wilson, of Westford. "When it opened in Nashua, I couldn't get in. There was a line going around the corner."

Five Guys will fit right in at the eclectic complex, which also features a Paper Store, a GameStop and Cost Cutters Hair Salon.

"I'll be able to grab a burger, go shopping, maybe get a haircut," said Dale Cailler, of Merrimack, N.H. "It'll be a good day."

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